Selly finds herself on a ship she was trying to escape, with a prince who could get her killed.
This book is the first in an new Young Adult fantasy series by Amie Kaufman, who has authored and co-authored many other young adult books.
The story follows a rag-tag trio that includes the daughter of a sailor, a prince and a boy trying to escape marriage and become a scholar.
When Prince Leander ends up on her family's boat, Selly finds herself immediately mad at him. He ruined her chance to escape working under Captain Rensa and find a way back to her father. Leander is a snarky, charismatic prince, who is running (a year) late, to make a sacrifice on the Isle of the Gods. This must be done to keep the people in the God's favor.
But there is a group that is hunting him, hoping to kill him before he can succeed, so their God can rule instead. In an effort to avoid attack, Leander is placed on the Lizabetta, a merchant ship that will hopefully help he succeed without being noticed. At the same time, Keegan has gotten passage on the Lizabetta to escape a marriage and study at the Bibliotek, full of ancient texts and the freedom he desires.
As their trip takes them into the middle of the sea, the ship soon finds itself under attack and with little survivors. Leaving the three to find their way to the Isle of the Gods on their own with little resources outside of the magic that Leander possesses.
This book was an adventure all around, filled to the brim with a lot of things I love in media. We had ships, pirates, a magical prince, and a darker crew with other intentions that we got to follow as well. There was a small enemies to lovers plotline, a few characters who knew each other as children and spirits that make up the elements around them.
I enjoyed the intensity of the story as well as the arch of the main character Selly, who goes under the biggest change. I am very excited to see where this series progresses, especially with some of the events that happen in the last 50 or so pages.
This book was a 4 out of 5 star read for me! I really enjoy Amie's writing and forgot how much her writing can hurt me at times. She is an excellent writer so I highly recommend much of what she has written.
The Isle of the Gods comes out May 2, 2023!
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